Easton pitcher takes Birches to school outside of classroom

Sunday

Jul 22, 2007 at 12:01 AM

EASTON — Easton had exactly what Birches could have used: an extra pitcher.

ANDREW KROECKEL

EASTON — Easton had exactly what Birches could have used: an extra pitcher.

Mike Rasley, available to Easton only on weekends, pitched seven strong innings as No. 2 Easton eliminated sixth-seeded Birches from the NORCO Legion Baseball League playoffs with an 11-3 victory Saturday.

Easton, which qualified for the Region 2 tournament with the victory, advances to play No. 5 Kemp in the championship game at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Though Kemp has yet to lose in this double-elimination round, Easton will host the game at Hackett Park because it is the higher seed.

Ron Vail, Easton's top pitcher will take the mound on five day's rest, while Kemp is expected to counter with Steve Nikorak.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," Easton manager John Bisco said. "(Kemp manager) Alex (Hiscott) and I have had a lot of great battles in playoffs — forever."

Rasley, who struck out six and walked one, wasn't in the lineup when Easton lost to Kemp on Thursday because he's already a full-time college student and attends classes during the week. In order to attend Bloomsburg, his school of choice, Rasley had to agree to attend summer sessions, leaving him unavailable to play during the week.

His teammates were glad to have him as he retired 10 of 11 batters in the middle innings, the same innings Easton used to build its lead. Had he not been available, Bisco would likely have gone with Kevin Heilman on just one day's rest.

"That would have been tough," Bisco said. "But (Rasley) gave us a great effort, shut them down."

Birches, meanwhile, already worn thin from a week's worth of games and the loss of top starter Paul Smith, used five pitchers, four of whom struggled to throw strikes. The Birches pitchers combined to walk eight batters, four with the bases loaded, and another run scored when Josh Lopes lifted his elbow into a pitch in the fifth.

Starter John Frantz was lifted after Easton loaded the bases on two walks and a single to open the third inning. While it might have seemed like a quick hook for Frantz, who sat the side down in order in the second, Birches manager Butch Faust felt like he had no other choice.

"We had great defense all year, our pitching just ran out at the end," he said.

Jake Schnee came in throwing hard but wild, walking the only two batters he faced. He was replaced by Chris Chamberlin, who gave up an RBI double to Chad Warga, turning Birches' early 2-1 lead into a 5-2 deficit.

Easton added three runs in the fourth, two coming on a single by Lopes, and three more in the fifth.

"It didn't matter who they threw, we hit the ball," Bisco said. "And that's it. We're in the finals."

Birches, which fell behind 1-0 in the first inning when Warga's bouncer to short pogoed off the lip and over Jake Griesemer's head, tied the game in the most unusual of ways. Cody Adams, who was hit leading off the second, scored on a wild pitch that bounced off the dirt and straight up through a hole in the backstop.